Taiwan shoring up defenses with U.S. assistance

Taiwan and the United States have made "remarkable progress"
in bolstering Taipei's defenses in the face of a growing military
threat from China, according to a former Pentagon specialist on China.

Michael Pillsbury, a former defense policy-maker and influential
Chinese affairs specialist, said in Taipei that more needs to be done
to restore the military balance on the Taiwan Strait, which is
shifting in favor of China. "Taiwan's challenges are serious, but
not insurmountable,"

Mr. Pillsbury said in a speech prepared for delivery to a conference
organized by the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Security Studies in
Taipei today. A copy of the speech was obtained by The Washington
Times.

"Our defense relationship with Taiwan seeks to reverse negative
trends in its ability to defend itself, possibly obviating the need
for massive U.S. intervention in a crisis, and allowing Taiwan's
political leaders to determine the island's future from a position of
strength."

Mr. Pillsbury said that if Beijing is not deterred from using force
against the island, "Taiwan, supported by the U.S. and its
allies, must be prepared to swiftly defeat the [People's Republic of
China's] use of force." U.S. policy toward Taiwan is governed by
the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which states that the United States
will prevent the use of force by China to reunite the island, which
Beijing views as a breakaway province. China has said it would go to
war over Taiwan if the island declares formal independence.

Tensions have been raised in recent months over plans by Taiwan to
hold a referendum on the threat posed by China's estimated 500
short-range missiles targeted on Taiwan from neighboring Chinese
provinces. "The [Chinese military's] growing sophistication,
including its efforts to complicate U.S. intervention, calls for more
consistent strategic harmonization between the United States and
Taiwan to improve Taiwan's ability to defend itself and reduce the
danger to U.S. forces should intervention become necessary," he
said.

The speech for the first time disclosed previously secret details of
U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation, including a series of talks held in
Monterey, Calif., that began in 1997. The nine strategy sessions held
so far focused on "software" elements of defense
cooperation, not arms sales.

Other steps in U.S.-Taiwan defense ties included recent delegations
of U.S. defense officials who helped the Taiwanese develop military
plans and strategy. U.S. military survey teams were dispatched to
Taiwan in 1999 to help the military prioritize its defense needs,
especially improving air defenses, anti-submarine warfare and
anti-amphibious assault operations, Mr. Pillsbury said.

In April 2001, the Bush administration improved the procedures used
for selling defense arms to Taiwan by conducting arms sales talks on a
regular basis, not just once a year, Mr. Pillsbury said. The
administration has offered to sell Taiwan Kidd-class missile
destroyers and diesel submarines, items that were denied by earlier
administrations. Mr. Pillsbury said another major step forward in
U.S.-Taiwan military ties were efforts begun last year by U.S.
officials to press the Taiwanese into investing more in missile
defense and electronic warning and surveillance systems, Mr. Pillsbury
said.

The upgrading of Taiwan's command and control systems is significant
and "would bring a major new benefit -- the ability of Taiwan to
begin to cooperate with U.S. forces and other potential security
partners if necessary in wartime," Mr. Pillsbury stated. Mr.
Pillsbury also said the Chinese military buildup "casts a cloud
over Beijing's declared preference for resolving differences with
Taiwan through peaceful means."

The Bush administration has sent mixed signals to Taiwan. In 2001,
President Bush said the United States would do "whatever it takes"
to help Taiwan's defense. But in December, during a meeting in
Washington with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Mr. Bush appeared
to side with Beijing by criticizing Taiwan's president for planning to
hold a vote on Taiwan's defense, which is viewed by China as a step
toward independence.

The U.S. representative in Taiwan, Douglas Paal, said in a speech
last year that "the Taiwan Strait remains one of the world's most
dangerous flash points and preventing conflict there remains a vital
U.S. national security concern."